Conor Hourihane has joined Swansea City on loan for the rest of the season after struggling for playing time at Aston Villa this campaign and Dean Smith has explained the reasoning behind the move.
The manager revealed: “Personally, I’d like Conor to stay. But Conor’s been to see me a few times and intimated that he wants to play football games, which is one of the reasons why I love Conor so much. He’s never happy when he’s not playing games.”
Hourihane has made only five appearances in all competitions this season, scoring one goal and supplying one assist. The 29-year-old’s last outing for Villa came in November’s 2-1 defeat to West Ham United and he has been an unused substitute in their last two months. [Transfermarkt]
Smith has preferred Ross Barkley, John McGinn and Douglas Luiz over Hourihane, so the Republic of Ireland international sought a move away from Villa Park to ensure that he didn’t spend the rest of the season on the periphery.
His departure comes at the same time that Villa are closing in on the signing of Morgan Sanson from Marseille, so the 29-year-old perhaps thought he would fall further down the pecking order if he stayed.
Hourihane has 18 months remaining on his contract, but this may be the end of him at Villa unless he shines at Swansea and stands out upon his return to Bodymoor Heath ahead of next season.
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Hourihane has made the right decision to go to Swansea on loan.
He is a useful player for Smith to call upon but can’t afford to waste away on the bench, so hopefully he can give his career a shot in the arm during his loan spell at the Liberty Stadium.
